Rescue
by minimumstitch
Summary: It was sod's law that Ianto needed rescuing after telling Jack that he could look after himself.


It was cold, too cold. Ianto stared out of the windscreen at the bleak landscape before him. He had shut off the engine to preserve the fuel, only turning it on every 30 minutes to allow a blast of heat to fill the small car.

He hadn't checked the weather forecast before he left, too upset, too desperate to escape the hub. Instead, he had stormed out, pausing to gather his coat and gloves before slamming the garage door, ignoring Jack's shout to "get his ass back here, right now!"

So now, here he was, stuck in the middle of nowhere, the snow falling steadily, showing no signs of stopping or easing up. He let his head drop to the steering wheel, cursing his temper. If he had just stopped and thought, he would be back at the hub, enjoying angry kisses and desperate groping.

He looked down at the useless piece of plastic in his hand; there was no way for him to contact Jack. The mobile coverage in the area was non-existent, and so he waited, waited for Jack to give in to the over-protective urges that had caused their argument in the first place.

He smiled, thinking of the situation that had led him to his current predicament. It had started with something so simple, a rift alert indicating an object had fallen through the rift in the middle of the Towy Valley Forests.

He and Jack had gone to retrieve the object and there had been a complication, the small, harmless looking box had detonated, giving out a sonic blast that had thrown them several feet and knocked Ianto unconscious. Since then, Jack had gone overboard, refusing to let Ianto out of his sight, keeping the CCTV trained on him when the young Welshman escaped to the sanctuary of the Tourist Information office or archives.

It had taken three days (and Jack refusing to let him feed Janet and Myfanwy) before he finally snapped, accusing Jack of not trusting him and believing him incapable of looking after himself.

_Sods bloody law! _He thought. _I storm out after telling Jack that I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself, only to need rescuing! He's never going to let me live it down!_

Ianto looked at his watch, five hours! He wondered how much longer it would take for Jack's protective instincts to cut in. Not that there was actually much he would be able to do. Jack Harkness had many, many abilities, but as far as he was aware, controlling the weather was not one of them.

Ianto shifted and peered through the windscreen, his attention caught by the lights coming towards him. As the snowplough passed by, Ianto caught sight of another beam of light which stopped in front of him. He heard a dull thud and then the passenger door was pulled open and Jack stared down at him, his face unreadable.

"Come on. Leave the car, we'll collect it later." He ordered.

Ianto thought about being stubborn and refusing to move, but the cold surrounding him, discouraged him. He got out of the car and began to walk towards the SUV. He lost his bearings for a moment, unable to see more than a few centimetres in front of him. He felt Jack's hand gripping his and followed him blindly.

When they reached the SUV, they sat in silence for a few moments, neither man daring to look at the other. It was Jack that broke the silence. "Sorry." He muttered.

Of all the things Ianto had thought Jack would say, this wasn't one of them. Ianto looked at the man sitting next to him, a look of exasperation on his face. "Why are you sorry, Jack? I'm the one that walked out like a petulant teenager! I'm the one that should be apologising."

"I'm sorry because I undermined you and treated you like a child. I do trust you, I just worry, but you know that I would have acted exactly the same if it was Tosh, Owen or Gwen that got hurt." Jack gave a rueful smile. "Well…maybe not Owen."

"I over-reacted. I should know you by now, you're Captain Jack Harkness, bigger and brighter than the average human, bigger smile, bigger ego and the biggest worry-wart." He reached out and cupped Jack's face, leaning in, kissing him softly. "I just forget and get frustrated sometimes."

Jack pulled back a little, a naughty grin stealing across his face. "Well I know an excellent cure for frustration, in fact, I'd be happy to demonstrate it now."

"I'm sure you would, but I must respectfully decline your kind offer." At Jack's look of disappointment he leaned in for another kiss. "However, should I feel frustrated when we get back to the hub, I'm sure a demonstration would be greatly appreciation."

Jack started the SUV and as he started to drive, he placed his hand on Ianto's thigh. "Well, I guess I should start doing what I do best…frustrating you."


End file.
